Getty ImagesThe NFL has investigated the alleged cramp that Steelers receiver Emmanuel Sanders got at a convenient time in Week Seven against the Bengals, and the league’s conclusion is clear: Fake, fake, fake, fake.

Sanders has been fined $15,000 for faking an injury and the Steelers have been fined $35,000, the league confirmed today. In a letter to the Steelers and G.M. Kevin Colbert, NFL Executive Vice President of Football Operations Ray Anderson made it clear that the league office believes Sanders is lying when he claims that he suffered a cramp and had to leave the game for one play — at a time when the Steelers wanted to substitute for him but didn’t have time to do it without getting a delay of game penalty.

“Despite the account given by Sanders during our November 2nd meeting, neither the video sequence of the pertinent plays nor the observations of the on-field official support Sanders’s contention that he was in severe pain, either before, while falling to the ground, lying on the ground, or when he was being assisted in leaving the field,” Anderson wrote. “Moreover, after missing the one play that is mandatory pursuant to the playing rules, and receiving no apparent treatment, Sanders returned to the game for a fourth down punt, on which he out sprinted all of his teammates 26 yards down the field, arriving at the ball ahead of all other Pittsburgh players, and then downing the ball. The video of the play shows Sanders running swiftly and effortlessly toward the punted ball, and then leaving the field with no sign of discomfort. Sanders also played the rest of the game without difficulty. Finally, there is no indication that Sanders has had prior cramping issues while in the NFL, and no Steelers’ medical records or information of any kind were presented that would support a finding that he incurred a cramp that was both as serious and as transient as Sanders suggests.”

Anderson said in his letter that he had no evidence that the Steelers or their coaching staff encouraged the fake injury. If he did have any such evidence, Anderson said, the penalty would have been much more severe than a $35,000 fine.

Both Sanders and the Steelers have the right to appeal. They’d probably be wise just to accept their punishment and move on, accepting the fact that this punishment is not particularly harsh, considering how obvious it was that Sanders was faking.

__________________MacReady: Beaver pics - don't think we're in much shape to do anything about this threadChilds: Well, what do we do?MacReady: Why don't we just . . .wait here and post for a little while longer . . . see what happens?

The NFL has never needed evidence to do what it feels it must to protect the integrity of a game that allows dances in the end zone as a means of marketing.

So we're clear, it costs $15,750 for a defensive player to hit a receiver in the head (whether flags are thrown for that, or whether the defensive player even hits the receiver in the head is a different story).

It costs a receiver $15,000 and his team $35,000 if that player gets a leg cramp during a fourth quarter drive.

Those are the amounts Steelers WR Emmanuel Sanders and the Steelers were fined, respectively, for Sanders' alleged "fake" leg cramp during the Steelers' 24-17 win over Cincinnati in Week 7.

Sanders sat out one play while drinking water or Gatorade while trainers massaged his calf.

Troy Polamalu suffered an injury to his calf in the Steelers' win over Philadelphia, and hobbled off the field in a similar fashion. The league bought the notion he was actually hurt when he missed the team's next four games. Apparently, though, he would not have been allowed to return without being subjected to a fine.

Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz physically displayed all the symptoms of being hit in the head by Steelers safety Ryan Clark in the Steelers' 24-20 win in Week 9. Replay clearly shows he wasn't hit anywhere near his head.

Cruz laid all but motionless on the ground, convincing the back judge Clark must have hit him in the head. Cruz miraculously got up from his chalk-outlined body after the official threw a flag, penalizing the Steelers 15 yards for a "blow to the head."

No statement from the league has been released on whether Cruz will be subjected to the same punishment, begging the question, why should a receiver fake a leg cramp when he'd get 15 yards and a free timeout if he acted like he got hit in the head?

We all know these questions will never be answered, nor will ones pertaining to the randomly below acceptable level of officiating from that Week 9 game.

Chalk it up to "Us Against The World," which, for the Steelers, has made an unexpected yet dramatic comeback in 2012.

Anderson said in his letter that he had no evidence that the Steelers or their coaching staff encouraged the fake injury. If he did have any such evidence, Anderson said, the penalty would have been much more severe than a $35,000 fine.
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You can fine an organization $35k for something they didn't know about or encourage? Wtf. I dont get why Rooney doesn't stand up to Fuhrer Goodell. He has a big enough name to put him in his place.